would you believe I've been watching the Olympics?

[tielan]

So, on Saturday, there was an unmasked protest in Sydney and Melbourne (and one in Brisbane, but the virus isn't quite as loose out there as it is in Sydney).

Let's just say that the odds of 0 in (reportedly) 7000 people not having COVID are infinitismally small.

The protest was a combination of muh freedumbs, antivaxxers, people who've bought into the fears of a 'new world order', people who are buying into the "we were not saved to live in fear" Christian narrative (with a side helping of 'freedom in Christ'), and probably a lot of people who were just angry that their livelihoods have been shut down during this lockdown.

Whatever prompted it, the practicalities of a super-superspreader event in the city is going to hit the city hard. Not that our numbers were going down before this. Today we had 172 new cases and over 60 of them were not isolating - ie. they either didn't know (or didn't care) that they were possibly infectious.

In even more local COVID news, it turns out a local PT trainer attended the super-superspreader event (SSSE) and posted about it on two social media feeds, then realised her clients might not have been entirely happy about that and took them down. But she refuses to acknowledge the risk or isolate. Meanwhile, the clients who are unhappy with their PT's personal choices have cancelled their appointments with her, and someone is reporting her to the police, so they can decide what to do about it. NSW Health would probably want to keep an eye on her at the very least.

There's also a case at the local Westfield bottle-o (liquor shop) and they were there Saturday night - just as half of the local area was probably looking to buy some alcohol. So I expect that our bubble is about to burst, bigtime.

And we've just received the word that tomorrow another 4 weeks of lockdown will be announced.

Frankly, I still think that one week of hard lockdown at the start would have saved us all this piffle-paffle now. Also, without an economic plan, the disaffected and desperate are going to continue their protests on lockdown, thereby further locking us down (at least until they all get sick and are hospitalised).

We're gonna be here a while.

--

Work has been utter shite. I'm not getting anything done, I should just take a week off or something. I can't concentrate, I can't think. It's not anything particular, I'm just struggling.

--

Writing has been similarly shite, although at least today I worked out the next scene for this thing. It's all piecemeal, though, and I have a thousand questions.

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Otherwise, I've been watching a lot of Olympics. Hockey, mostly, via the free streaming services provided by one of our broadcast channels. All the AUS games, and here and there other ones.

I haven't really watched the swimming finals - I always miss them, exciting as they tend to be. Although I did just watch an Australian tie in his heat after trailing for most of it. That was freaking impressive.

Comments

[lilysea]

Today we had 172 new cases and over 60 of them were not isolating - ie. they either didn't know (or didn't care) that they were possibly infectious.

Today the ABC had an article about a woman who was not notified that she had been exposed until AFTER she had caught a bus [lots of people] to a vaccination clinic [even more people] to get vaccinated. Fortunately she turned out to be negative, but NSW ability to contact trace and notify people seems to be failing... :(

"Sydney's north-eastern suburb of Belrose has also seen a potential super spreader event, with a local Woolworths supermarket reporting four people were working while infectious over the past two weeks.

NSW Health has confirmed that up to 5,000 shoppers have been identified as close contacts and instructed to self-isolate as a result.

Belrose resident Cathy Priebbenow told 7.30 that much of her social network was currently isolating.

"I really know only three people in my area that are not in full isolation," she said.

Ms Priebbenow, who has also been identified as a close contact, said her community had known about the outbreak well before contact tracers reached them.

"I learned from a friend ... there was quite a bit of chatter [on social media]. Just concern, I think, because there was a lot of people that attended Woolies," she said.

Ms Priebbenow received the first notification from NSW Health five days after her visit to the shops. By that time she had already travelled by public transport to get her vaccine.

"I went into the city on a bus to get my first vaccine. That is a bit worrying in hindsight ... because had I been positive, there's so many people that I could have infected," she said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-27/questions-over-how-well-nsw-contact-tracing-system-is-coping/100327436

[lilysea]

Frankly, I still think that one week of hard lockdown at the start would have saved us all this piffle-paffle now. Also, without an economic plan, the disaffected and desperate are going to continue their protests on lockdown, thereby further locking us down (at least until they all get sick and are hospitalised).

We're gonna be here a while.

I would really like to see the Federal and/or NSW gov provide financial support for casual workers; workers who are not Australian citizens; & others who can't afford to not-work, but who are not eligible for JobSeeker or other financial help at the moment.

If we want people to
a) get tested
b) isolate while waiting for their results
c) isolate if they test positive

we need to pay them.

and surely paying an adequate but modest [rent + groceries + power/water/gas/phone bill] level of financial help to enable people to lockdown and/or isolate

is cheaper than the loss to businesses/gov from more months of lockdown?

Not to mention the cost of providing medical treatment for avoidable cases of COVID

and the cost of decades of Disability pension to people who end up permanently unable to work from COVID...

[kore]

Amen to all that. If nothing else, it will save probably a TON of money (and lives! actual lives! but we don't matter as much as $$$)

[tielan]

The irony is that financial programs to provide equity of opportunity not only save lives from economic ruin and suicide, they make society more productive and give an economic boost in the long term.

But nobody is doing that anymore.

[kore]

It's bizarre, you can stand in front of these people and talk about -- say -- how seatbelt and helmet laws not only save lives and help prevent disastrous injuries but they SAVE MONEY because those people aren't requiring an immense amt of time, effort and money in looking-after if they do get killed. "This earning adult will make (blahblah) $$$ over their lifetime to contribute to the Glorious National Product!" even. But it's like that doesn't even get through anymore, let alone basic human decency and what's in the UN human rights charter. I think it's the biggest social change I've seen in my lifetime -- it got really obvious during the eighties, but was well along before that.

[tielan]

Ideology over practicality.

It is more important not to do The Things That We Don't Do, even if The Things That We Don't Do actually do good in the world.

[tielan]

Certainly the major factor in people continuing to leave their houses and mingle is economic fragility. Without removing that fragility, then people are going to risk the uncertainty of a 'disease that doesn't kill' over the certainty of being tossed out of their home.

[wpadmirer]

I saw a replay of that Australian win! That was amazing.

I have not been watching the Olympics at all. Pat and I are watching baseball. Yes, our eternal sport. (grin)

[tielan]

Well, we have a fairly limited selection of things to watch in this house, and I have difficult watching anything at all, and have for a number of years.

But watching the Olympics is much easier - I'm in a chat with friends who are also watcing, and we can chat and talk and wish that we were getting back to hockey this year. (Unlikely given the extended lockdown.)

[kuwdora]

fucccck *hugs*

[tielan]

*hugs back*

[kass]

The protest was a combination of muh freedumbs, antivaxxers, people who've bought into the fears of a 'new world order', people who are buying into the "we were not saved to live in fear" Christian narrative (with a side helping of 'freedom in Christ'), and probably a lot of people who were just angry that their livelihoods have been shut down during this lockdown.

Gosh, that sounds familiar.

Sigh.

[tielan]

Fearful (and the corresponding stupid) is a thing the human world over.

[jenab]

Hugs That sucks.

[tielan]

It sucks so very badly. At the least, we're looking at lockdown to the end of August, if not September as well.

[lilysea]

ABC news today says they're increasing income support to people affected in NSW - and I'm glad they're increasing it, but I'm not at all confident that they are increasing it ENOUGH, given Sydney rents...

People in Greater Sydney and its surrounds who have had their work hours reduced because of the lockdown will also be in line to get additional payments.

Those who have lost more than 20 hours of work per week are already eligible for the federal government's COVID-19 disaster payment, worth $600 per week.

That will be increased by $150 per week.

People who have lost less than 20 hours of work per week were eligible for $300 per week under the COVID-19 disaster payment.

This will be increased by $75 per week.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-28/nsw-covid-financial-support-explained-including-jobsaver/100329924